Rift between worlds
by NerdyNobody
Summary: The NERDS once again have to deal with another villain. But this time, something goes wrong. The villain messes up his calculations, and tears a rift between worlds. And what would one person do when a hole suddenly appears in their kitchen?
1. Pencils, paper, and portals

it scratched across the paper, making intricate patterns and shapes as it drew. Abby tapped her finger on the side of the sketchbook page as she finished her sketch. She pushed her fuchsia headband back on her head with a hand. Her dark, curly afro of brown hair was pushed out of her chocolate colored eyes. She scratched her arms with her nails, leaving white traces on the dark skin. She rolled her wrists and shoulders around, streching them. She tossed the book to the side, hopping off her bed. She was hungry. She climbed onto the railing of her stairway and slid down. She entered the kitchen. Neither her mom, or her dadis were there, as the three of them had gone off to help their band clean up their practice garage. Abby quickly gathered up some chips, and a peanut butter sandwich before jogging back upstairs.

She plopped on her bed, reaching over to the top of her bookcase and grabbing her favorite books. Aka NERDS, or National Espionage Rescue and Defence Society. It had been her favorite series for a long time. The books pages were worn from the consistent reading. She always wondered what it would be like to be inside that world. Working to save the world all the time, having superpowers, all that good stuff. It was too bad the series ended a few years ago. The books were still fun to read though, as long as she didn't have paint or clay on her hands. She was an artist after all. She had been drawing, painting, and making mini clay cups since she was a toddler. The splatters of paint and clay on the hard wood floor were a testament to that. Not that she minded. There was a easel in the corner with a blank canvas on it, and pottery decorated the shelves in the corner of the room.

She flipped through the pages of the last book, reading them over. She sighed, closing it with a bookmark. She put the book to the side, grabbing the now empty plate and jogging back downstairs. She stepped onto the landinding, beginning to walk into the kitchen when she froze. In the middle of the kitchen, casually sitting there, was a hole. It was mostly black, but it swirled with different bursts of color, and power was emanating off of it in waves.

"Oh god what. Oh god what. Oh god WHAT." Abby said, dumbstruck. She had no idea what this hole in her kitchen was. She crept around it, careful not to touch it, and put her plate in the sink. She then looked around before grabbing a penny ooff the table and dropping it into the hole. The penny dropped, glowing before disappearing completely. She should tell someone. She should call her parents. She should leave it alone and call the fbi. Any normal person would run away as fast as physically possible. Abby was not a regular person.

Her curiosity took her over. She rushed upstairs, throwing different objects into a backpack including her books and some art supplies. She ran back downstairs, writing a note quickly. If she died, it would have been for science. A flurry of emotions ripped through her at incredible speeds. Fear, excitement, curiosity, and interest flowed through her veins. She knelt down next to the hole, dipping her hand into it. It was almost like water, or oil. Electricity poked at her hands like pins and needles, leaving a strange feeling up and down her arm. She pulled her arm out of the hole, looking at it. She was completely unharmed. No negative effects seemed to be showing. She took a deep breath, shuffling forward slightly more. The hole felt like it was pulling her in, making her lean forward more. Her legs were on the edge of the hole now. One more deep breath, in, and out. She closed her eyes, put her arms out, and within seconds, she was falling.


	2. Catch it

The NERDS ran around in a panic, dodging around shots fired from some type of blaster in the villains hand. They had been sent on a mission to take down someone who was building some kind of device. The villain had already destroyed six towns. The NERDS were so close to their goal, but the villain was blocking them off. The large machine behind him buzzed and whirred as multiple lights flashed and bolts of electricity crackled from it.

"Flinch! Grab something and smash that thing!" Pufferfish yelled. Flinch nodded, shooting over to the side of the room and ripping a rail from the wall, all the while dodging shots from the villain by a hair. The team distracted him, and Flinch sprinted to the machine, raising the rail above his head, preparing to smash it through the machine. It suddenly glowed, and there was an explosion that rocked the ground, and sent everyone in the room flying against the wall.

The group recollected themselves, shaking off their pain and looking back at the machine. A large glowing beam had shot into the sky. There was a large black rip beginning to open up, tearing the sky in two. The group only hesitated a moment before jumping into action. Wheezer flew up, blasting it with her inhalers. Gluestick Shot a few important looking parts that were moving with his glue. Braceface and Flinch picked up some stray objects, and used them to throw at the machine without touching it. Heathcliff ran around it with Pufferfish, seeing if there was an off switch somewhere. Pufferfish was scratching furiously at her neck, which had shifted to a worrying bluish purple color.

"Whatever this is, I am definitely extremely allergic to it. This isn't one of my catalogued allergies." She called.

"Of course you would." Braceface called back, giving the machine a hard smash with a pole he had picked up.

Pufferfish scowled, going to retort, but was cut off by a burst of energy from the machine. The gravity around them suddenly seemed too much to bear, even for superstrong Flinch. They collapsed on the ground, trying desperately to move. The machine started to crack and buckle suddenly. The NERDS had done a lot of damage to it. And soon enough, it collapsed in on itself, stopping the beam from going into the sky. The weight on them slowly dissipated, allowing them to slowly pull themselves up, looking into the sky. The tear was slowly beginning to close. Gluestick squinted, before he stiffened and pointed toward the tear.

"Guys! Uhh, there's something coming out if the hole in the sky!" He said. Pufferfish's eyes widened and she turned to Wheezer.

"Wheezer! Go get it. Be careful, we don't know what it is." Pufferfish said. Wheezer grinned, nodding as she fired up her inhalers.

"On it." She said, shooting up into the sky toward the small dot plummeting towards earth. The closer she got, the more it began to become clear that it was a human. With a final blast, she had them in her arms. It was a girl. Both girls examined each other. One with bewilderment, and one with curiosity. The girl in Wheezers arms was a slightly tall african american girl. Her large afro of dark brown hair was only kept from invading her face by a fusia headband with a small bow on the side. Her chocolate eyes were wide, and her mouth was gaping. She was wearing a fushia shirt with a purple stripe across the chest, and white short overalls that went just above the knee with leopard print flip flops. It was a miracle the flip flops hadn't fallen off. She also had a hot pink and white tye dye backpack on her back. The girl Wheezer had caught examined her closely. The girls eyes shot open, realization going across her face, and she screamed. Loudly.


	3. Falling

Wind swished Abby's hair around as she fell, spinning in slow circles, end over end. Colorful lights danced and flashed all around her, making beautiful myriads of alternating swirls and patterns. It looked like she was falling through some kind of vortex almost. Pins and needles went all over her skin, and goosebumps rose along her arms and legs. The temperature seemed to alternate and change at a moments notice, going from searing hot to freezing cold in the blink of an eye. Abby squinted downward, starting to stop her slow roll through the air and instead spreading herself out, belly down. A bright white pinprick below her was slowly coming closer, getting bigger and bigger. As Abby came closer, she saw that it looked more like a rip. Like someone had ripped the seam on a piece of clothing and separated it. As she came closer yet, she could see things through it. Trees. Buildings. A small pond over to the side. Within half a minute, she had fallen through it completely.

It was only then she actually realized her predicament. She was likely hundreds of feet above the ground, and falling fast. Once she hit the ground, it was over.

"Oh...crud." Abby deadpanned. She guessed it was fun while it lasted. Good bye cruel world and all that jazz. Fate, however, had a different plan. She heard a loud sound coming closer from behind, similar to a rocket engine. She craned her head to look back, but she was suddenly jerked from the air with a small pull, and she was in someones arms. She examined her savior in bewilderment. Her mind slowly came to a full stop as she finally took in her looks. It was a tiny korean girl with straight black hair down to her shoulders, dark brown eyes, and a unibrow. She was wearing a purple poka dot dress, and was hovering in the air with two small inhalers blasting flames out the bottom. It was Matilda Choi of the NERDS. The book. The fictional character. That was in no shape or form real. Yet somehow holding her in her arms and examining her curiously.

It took a few seconds to realize she was screeching like a banshee. Matilda winced, cringing away from her.

"Whoa whoa whoa, quiet down! You're busting my eardrums." She said. Abby quickly closed her mouth, staring.

"Ok. Ok. No. I'm dreaming. This is NOT real. You are most definitely not real. Not at all. Nope. A book character is most definitely NOT holding me in her arms and when I count to ten, all of this will be gone." She said. Matilda looked extremely confused.

"What are you even talking about? Who are you anyway?" She said. Abby stuttered, tripping over her words. She knew it wasn't a dream. Too lucid to be. Dreams always had a strange haze over them. Matilda suddenly sneezed.

"Yeah? ...Yeah I got her. It's a person. ...Alright, I'm coming. Hold your horses and stop freaking out. She kinda seems a little wonky in the brain though. Nevermind, we'll talk when I get her down. Wheezer out." She said, seemingly to nothing. Although if Abby knew better, she was likely talking to the other operatives. Matilda shook her head, looking at her.

"Okay, we're going down now. Try not to scream again." She said.

Abby didn't. She stayed silent the entire time, stuck in bewilderment. Within a minute, she was suddenly dropped on her feet, and she looked around. Forming a half circle around her, were six people she knew extremely well. She had seen them on the illustrations of her books multiple times when she flicked through the series. A tiny, chubby african american boy with dark brown hair cut in a buzzcut with dark brown eyes. A very jittery mexican boy with dark brown, fluffy hair and brown eyes with a strange harness spanning his body. A boy with one of the worst set of braces she had ever seen, with golden blonde hair streaked with strawberry blonde highlights and bright blue eyes as well as a small vest on his chest. A boy with bright red hair and freckles across his cheeks, and a pair of glasses covering a pair of seafoam eyes. And finally, their leader, a twig-like girl with bright blonde hair pulled back into two poofy pigtails on top of her head, and a set of glasses covering dark brown, almost black eyes.

Yes, Abby knew full well who these people were. The NERDS. Characters of her favorite book series. She, somehow, in some kind of freakish turn of events, was dropped into the world of the books.

"Oh. My. God. You...you're the NERDS! Holy CRAP!!! What kind of fairytale type story did I get born into where this is possible? The heck?" She cried. The NERDS immediately tensed, looking between eachother.

"Hold on, you know us? What are you taking about?" Heathcliff said. Abby jerked her backpack off, rummaging around.

"Whatever just happened, I'm allergic to it." Ruby said.

"You're allergic to everything, Ruby." Abby blurted. Ruby's eyebrows jumped up, and she looked like she had been punched in the gut. Abby finally got what she was looking for, turning around to show them.

"This is how I know you! You guys are from one of my favorite book series!" She proclaimed.


	4. Problems arise

It had been fifteen minutes in total after Abby had pulled out the books, and everything had already dissolved into absolute chaos. The NERDS had skimmed over the books she had given them, confirming what she had said to be true. The six of them were talking and arguing back and forth loudly, while she could do nothing but sit a few feet away and simply watch.

"Are you kidding me? How did that guy even open a portal to another dimension? Gerdie was the only other person who was able to create something like that!" Heathcliff cried. He was pacing back and forth, making wild hand gestures in the air.

"Well apparently not! If we have another whole situation where the worlds get knocked around again, we don't have her to be able to help make another atomic harpoon! There will be chaos!" Ruby replied in a tense tone.

"And how are we even supposed to get this kid back to her world? Can we call MISFIT or something? How would we even do that?" Matilda put in, rubbing her temples in small circles.

"Does anyone else realize how crazy this is? We're not even real in another world! We're literally fiction! Book characters!" Jackson yelled, arms tossed above his head.

"Yes Jackson. I'm pretty sure we all realize that. Why else would we be freaking out?" Duncan answered. Julio was still holding the book Abby had given him, still speechless and in shock. Abby looked between the group frowning slightly. She looked back up into the sky, where the universe tear had once sat. It was only now that the full realization of what she had done finally hit her. She had no idea how long it would take to get home. Her parents would come back and find her missing. They would look everywhere, but they wouldn't be able to find her. She was stuck alone in an unfamiliar world, and she had no idea what was going to happen next. A sudden choking feeling went into her throat, and her lip started quivering slightly.

Within a quick minute, tears were rolling down her face and she was crying softly. The NERDS stopped arguing for a second, their attention turning over to her as they heard the small hiccuping sobs that came out of her mouth.

"Oh. Uh, crud. Hey, don't cry, we're gonna find a way to get you back home." Heathcliff said awkwardly. Duncan jogged to Abby's side, patting her on the back slightly.

"Yeah! Don't worry about it. We have some pretty smart people working with us, so no doubt you'll be back in your world in no time!" He said comfortingly. Abby sniffed, wiping at her face furiously.

"I know. I'm just worried about what my parents are gonna think. I just disappeared. They're gonna be so scared." She replied. Duncan gave her another few pats. Ruby sighed, rubbing her face with her hands before looking around at the group.

"Alright. We need to get back to The Playground, and we can figure things out from there. Lets get back to the school bus." She said after taking a deep breath. The others nodded, and she turned to Abby.

"Come on. We can figure out what we can do to help you get back to your world once we're all back at base." She said. Abby smiled slightly before hopping up to follow the six as they walked down the still bare road. They wound down a few streets before branching off into a small patch if trees. Waiting in the middle, was what looked like a regular school bus. Abby, however, knew better about it. A small grin went across her face despite the millions of negative thoughts in the back of her head. The door slid open, and a tall, handsome man stepped out. Abby couldn't help but clap slightly. Even if she was trapped her, it was still pretty darn cool that she was getting to meet all of her book heros.

"Hello children. I see you've brought the other kid. My name is Mr. Brand. Nice to meet you." He said, presenting his hand for a shake. Abby gasped at him for a second before grabbing his hand and shaking it wildly.

"Oh my gosh. Its, uh, nice to meet you too? My names Abby." She replied, unable to keep a wide smile off her face.

"I have been informed of the predicament you're in. We are going to go to The Playground, which I'm sure you know what that is, since I was also told we are apparently book characters in your world?" Brand continued. Abby nodded in confirmation.

"Yup! That's right! Gosh, its only really hitting me now that I am LITERALLY inside of my favorite book series. Like, really! All of you are more or less kinda my heros. They said they were gonna make a movie about it, but nope. Still hasn't happened. How long has it even been since the last book and the fight with the BULLIES? How have things been going after the books?" Abby started talking quickly, going off on the beginning of a small tangent, but Brand stopped her.

"Why don't we get back to The Playground first before answering all your questions?" He asked. Abby shut her mouth, blushing in embarrassment.

"Yeah. That's probably a good thing to do." she said. Finally, the group hopped into the school bus to start their journey back to The Playground.


	5. Back to base

Abby was glued to the window of the school bus, eyes sparkling in awe and excitement as they were propelled through space. She squealed, turning to the others.

"Oh my GOD! This is so cool!!! I'm so jealous you guys get to do this all the time!!!" She cried, a wide grin on her face.

"Eh. It looses its luster after you see it a million times." Jackson said.

"Says the boy who hyperventilated the first time he did it." Matilda teased. Jackson glared, pouting and crossing his arms.

"We don't speak of that." He said. Abby laughed slightly, staring out into the black void, sparkling with stars and planets galore. She listened to the NERDS chat as she watched outside, and eventually they entered the atmosphere of earth once again.

"Six minutes until we're back at the school!" The lunch lady called. Abby grinned, bouncing in her seat.

"Ohhhhhh my gosh. Am I really gonna be seeing The Playground? Like, the actual, literal, real life Playground?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes, you're getting to see The Playground. I'm not exactly going to leave a child from another dimension alone and wandering about are we now?" Brand replied.

"Fair point." Abby said, looking up at him, before squealing happily once more. A couple more minutes, and a school came into view in front of them. The roof of one part opened, and the school bus hovered above it for a second before slowly lowering into it. They landed, and the doors slid open.

"Alright kids. We're here." The lunch lady called. Abby grinned once again, unbuckling herself and following the others off of the bus. She twirled in circles as she followed them, taking in the amazing sights. They entered another doorway that led into a giant, dome shaped room that was held up by marble pillars. Abby gaped at what was obviously the main room, watching scientists mull around like busy bees inside their hive. The group made their way to a large table in the middle of the room, and a small blue orb floated out of it, flitting over to them.

"Hello children. Welcome back." Benjamin said. Abby couldn't help but make yet another happy noise, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Oh my gosh. You're Benjamin! Like, THE Benjamin. Holy moly." She squeaked. Benjamin flew around her head for a second, buzzing and clicking before settling in front of her face.

"Yes, that I am. A pleasure to meet you." He said. Abby smiled at him, resisting the urge to reach out and shake him like she would with someones hand.

"Alright now. Why don't we sit down so we can answer your questions, and you can answer some of ours." Brand said, putting a hand on her shoulder and gesturing to the table. Abby nodded, sliding into a chair.

"Ok, ok. Uh, hmm, ok. So, should I ask you guys a question then you can ask me a question?" She asked awkwardly.

"Sounds reasonable." Ruby replied. Abby took a breath. The initial excitement of the entire situation was beginning to give way to a familiar feeling of awkwardness.

"Alright. Ok. Uh, so, first question. How long has it been since the end of the fifth book? And by that I guess I mean how long has it been since Brand got back to current time." She said.

"Not that long. Just about four weeks." Duncan answered. Abby blinked in surprise, but shook it off.

"So, how did you get to falling into our world?" Heathcliff asked. Abby laughed awkwardly, flicking her fingernails.

"Well, ok, I'm not gonna lie, that was kinda voluntary. I had gone downstairs to put a plate away and there was this big hole in the middle of the floor. I dropped a coin in and it just kinda fell through. Me, being an idiot, thought it would be a good thing to get a pack together and jump on in. Hahaha...yeah. I did NOT think that through." She replied.

Jackson snorted slightly, but Ruby kicked him from under the table, glaring.

"Ok, uhhhh, hoo boy. I can barely even think of any questions. Uhhhhhhh, how is it having all those new recruits and stuff?" Abby asked. There were some varied reactions with the group at the question, although she though "ehhhhh" would likely sum it up fairly well. Ruby coughed.

"It's been a journey. Organizing them was fun at first, but trying to figure out how to train hundreds of children is..." She cringed slightly. Abby cringed with her, exhaling out a breath. She could imagine the stress. Didn't sound fun in the least.

"Oh, oh! I have a question! Where do you live? Is your world like ours, with all the continents and stuff?" Julio said. Abby nodded.

"Yeah! Just like yours basically. Except for this whole organization thing. We don't have that. I live down in florida! On the beach actually." She replied. Brand hummed.

"As nice a place to live as any." He commented. Abby laughed, nodding.

"Most definitely. Anyway, I uh, really don't know what to ask if I'm being honest. Literally nothing could have prepared me for this. Sooo, I guess my only question is if there have been any big changes in the last four weeks." She said.

"There have been a good few actually. For one, our facility was made even bigger to accommodate for all the new recruits, as well as some new scientists. Second, we bumped up the age range a fair bit. We went from 16 to 18, and then you have to take a test to see if you can stay on the team or not. And we have a few more training rooms so the agents can train without any trouble. Other than that, we just had some general improvements on the whole place." Heathcliff said. Matilda grinned.

"I'm helping train all the newbies. Its funny watching them." She laughed. Abby opened her mouth to speak again, but a loud ringing bell sound interrupted her from speaking. She looked up, slightly confused.

"Oh, that's the end day bell. All the kids get to go home now. Although none of them are really here except for us since we just finished a mission and brought you back." Ruby said.

"Oh, so you guys have to go home now. Uh, what am I supposed to do?" Abby asked. The NERDS looked between eachother before looking at Brand for help. He scratched his head for a second, eyebrows furrowing in thought before remembering something.

"Well, until we can figure out how to get you home, I would say you could stay in Heathcliff's old room here." He said finally. Abby gave a small thumbs up.

"Sounds fine to me. You ok with that?" She said, turning her head to the boy. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"No worries here." He said. A few minutes later, Abby stepped into a smallish room, tossing her bag down and rummaging in it for a moment.

"I'm gonna see if my data works here or if I can text my family. I hope it does, but I doubt it will." She said back to Brand. He nodded.

"Good idea. You do that. If you need something, you can come find me." He replied. Abby hummed, pulling the phone out as he left, closing the door behind him. Abby plopped onto the bed, taking a few seconds to breathe. It was still hard to believe this had happened. She shook her head of her wandering thoughts, trying to put her mind to something else. It was a long day.


	6. Sirens and quick decisions

Abby snorted in surprise as loud sirens and flashing lights began going the entire base, rolling off the bed and onto the floor wide awake. She jumped up, quickly throwing on a different set of clothing before sprinting out of the room. She slid to a stop in the main room, looking around at the multitude of people rushing back and forth in a panic. She backed up to the wall, looking hurriedly around for someone she knew. Finally her eyes caught onto none other than the librarian, Deprankova. Abby shot over and came to a quick pace beside her.

"Ms.Deprankova! What's going on?" She asked worriedly. Deprankova glanced down at her in slight surprise at her presence.

"Global attacks. We're sending out all of our agents to deal with it. The villain we're dealing with is trying to extract power from the core of the earth to power a ray powerful enough to destroy the sun. Needless to say it's a little hectic. Why don't you go back to your room while I deliver these papers? I'll come back with some banana bread." She said tensely. Abby nodded, patting her back before going to do as she had been told.

After a good while the blaring sirens and red flashing lights finally stopped, and she was able to calm herself slightly. After another few minutes, Deprankova finally entered holding a plate of something square. Likely the banana bread she had mentioned.

"Hello Abby, I hope I didn't keep you waiting." She said. Abby shook her head.

"No! It's cool. Is everything dealt with?" She responded. Deprankova plopped down with a sigh, handing her the plate.

"Well, not completely, but we've gotten all of our agents out and they are dealing with the problem as we speak. Our main team is dealing with the actual villain." She said. Abby hummed, glancing down at the food in her hands. She shrugged inwardly. How bad could it be? She took a bite, nearly choking it out immediately.

"Oh. Wow." She coughed, slapping her chest a few times.

"Are you alright?" Deprankova asked. Abby nodded, giving her a wavering smile.

"Yep. Fine." She laughed awkwardly. Deprankova sighed, looking slightly disappointed.

"It's ok. I know I don't cook very well." She said sadly. Abby quickly began waving her hands furiously.

"No no! It's ok! It just has too much salt and oil in it I think. Baking powder too. Maybe a little bit undercooked as well. It kinda feels like you mushed up the bananas too much." She replied. Deprankova blinked at her in slight surprise.

"You were able to tell all that from a taste?" She asked curiously. Abby laughed, nodding embarrassedly.

"Yeah. My family cooks a LOT. And I mean a lot. My mom used to run a five star restaurant and a cat cafe!" She said excitedly. Deprankova smiled, impressed. She opened her mouth to speak once more but was cut off as the door slammed open. Brand stood there with Benjamin floating next to him, a tense look painted across his face.

"The NERDS have been captured." He stated. Deprankova and Abby shot up with equally horrified looks on their faces.

"What? We need to send a rescue team right now." Deprankova said. Brand shook his head.

"None of our teams are back yet." He replied. Deprankova hissed out a small curse. Abby's heart raced in her chest as her eyes darted back and forth between the two. Deprankova sighed, crossing her arms with a worried look.

"Then we have to wait." She said. Brand shook his head.

"I wish we could. Benjamin, play the video." He said. A hologram was suddenly projected into the room. It was a woman in some kind of black cloak covering her body. Behind her, were the NERDS, tied up and struggling. It seemed as if they had strange devices clipped to each of their shirts.

"Hello, dear adversaries. I'm going to make this short for you. Call off all of your teams, or these little children are going to meet an unfortunate end. You have five hours. Tata now!" She waved, and the video cut off. The three were left in a tense silence.

Thoughts flashed in Abby's mind at lighting speed, and in that moment, she said something she never usually would have said.

"Maybe I could help!" She blurted. It grew quiet as the two stared at her. A dark blush grew on her face and she looked at her feet.

"What do you mean by that?" Brand asked. Abby choked on her words for a moment, suddenly becoming extremely awkward.

"Well, uh, I mean, I'm top of my class in PE and math, and I do karate and fencing, so maybe if you upgrade me and send me out, I could save them?" She said slowly. The others stared at her in bewilderment before Deprankova looked at Brand.

"We can't." She insisted. But Brand was still staring, obviously thinking hard.

"It may be our only chance. If we pull back any of the teams, it would be disastrous." He said. Deprankova's jaw dropped, as she looked at him with a horrified face. Meanwile, Abby was quite sure that she had died.

"Agent Brand, no. We can't send a single completely untrained child into a villains lair." Deprankova said firmly. Abby had a flash to in the first book when Jackson and the Hyena had gotten into Simon's lair and saved the NERDS. Brand rubbed his temples, looking distressed.

"I know, I don't like it either. But even if she fails, might just buy us time to get a team to them. Abby, come with me." He replied. The four quickly went out the door and crossed the room to a different one. Brand slammed his hand onto a panel and ushered Abby inside. By this point, Abby was feeling more ecstatic than she ever had as she stepped into the room. Almost immediately, a green lazer scanned across her.

"SUBJECT IN GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION. NO WEAKNESSES FOUND." An electronic voice said as it continued to scan her. A few moments later, it stopped.

"WEAKNESS DETECTED. SUBJECT DRAWS NINTEY NINE PERCENT MORE THAN THE AVERAGE PERSON. PREPARE FOR UPGRADE." It said again. Abby braced herself. What an exciting day.


	7. Upgraded and on the way

A few minutes later, Abby found herself stumbling out of the upgrade room feeling more than a little worse for wear. She didn't expect the process to be pleasant from how she knew the book described it, but she really would rather not be having to deal with the fact that she felt woozy and achy, not to metion the strange almost buzzing feeling in her body. Reading the experience was one thing, but actually going through it was a whole different ball game. She felt like the room even may possibly be spinning slightly around her.

She saw Ms. Deprankova appear out of the observation door, quickly making her way over with Brand a couple feet behind her.

"Abby! Are you alright? How are you feeling?" She asked quickly. Abby shook her head slightly, rubbing at her temples and blinking to clear away some of the effects.

"Uh, I'm alright. I think. Just a little achy. And dizzy." She answered. The woman gave her a sympathetic look, patting her on the back slightly.

"Don't worry about it. That's normal. But we can't talk much. We need to move quickly, or we may just end up loosing our fight. And you know what that would mean." Brand interrupted as he finally stepped behind the two, face taunt and hard. Abby swallowed awkwardly, her eyes darting down to avoid his as she shuffled slightly.

"Uh, yeah. We should probably focus on saving the world first." She said. Brand nodded as he turned, gesturing for the two to follow him.

"We will be dropping you off right next to the base, so you need to be ready. We should be able to communicate with you through the implant we are going to give you, that is if they haven't set up any more EMP devices. That way we can lead you through the base and inform you of a plan of action. Understand?" He informed Abby. She nodded, her hands fidgeting at her sides.

"Yeah. But like, I don't actually know what my upgrades are yet. Shouldn't I know that before I go in?" She asked, laughing awkwardly. She saw Ms. Deprankova blink, beating Brand to the explanation.

"According to our computers, paint and pigment control. Although that's just a constrictive term for what you can do. You're going to need to experiment a bit, since paints aren't the only thing you're going to be able to use, but we can't explain it all now since we're in a hurry, as you know." She explained as the three hurried into the room where the school bus sat, already beginning to be fueled up and checked over.

Abby continued following behind the adults in front of her, her hands already beginning to fidget furiously in front of her. Her nerves were beginning to get to her. She was seriously about to be invading the base of a supervillain that could very well kill her, or worse. How was she even going to do it? Going in guns blazing or what? She didn't exactly trust in her skill to dodge around cameras and guards. She may be sneaky, but she held no chance against those. She just hoped that whatever it was she had to do, Brand and Deprankova would be leading her through it. She wished she had a pencil and some papers so she could draw. Or her meds. Both would easily help her calm down one way or another. But unfortunately, she had neither. So she forced down every instinct that told her to curl into a ball and cry, and pushed forward.

The three reached the bus, and a scientist came forward with a small container of something yellow and grey in his hand. Abby supposed it was the infamous creamed corn from the first book.

"Sir! We have it." The scientist said, thrusting the container forward. Brand opened his mouth to explain what it was, but Abby was already grabbing it.

"Communication thing. I know it." She said before shoveling down a few bites. Like she expected, she felt something catch the back of her throat and make it's way up her nose, making her gag slightly. A moment later, a voice rang in her head.

"Welcome, Scribble." It said. Abby grinned slightly as it did.

"Cool name." She giggled, bouncing on her heels and temporarily forgetting her fears for the moment.

"Do you wish to join the NERDS, Scribble? Please confirm." The voice said again.

"Heck yeah!" Abby said excitedly. She was suddenly nudged forward by Brand into the school bus, obviously impatient.

"Confirmed. Communication testing imminent." The voice said. There was suddenly a loud screeching in Abby's ears, causing her to yelp loudly and jump. She shook her head slightly as the ringing finally died down, and she slid into one of the seats. There then was a slight tickling in her nose, causing her to sneeze a few times. After a moment, the voice came one last time.

"Implant in proper condition. Welcome to the NERDS, Scribble." It said. And with that, it disappeared. Abby shook her head, glancing out the window to see they had already taken off. How she missed that, she had no idea. She took a moment before looking back at Brand and Deprankova, tapping her finger on her leg slightly.

"Uh, it's over." She said. The two looked over at her from their positions, nodding in confirmation.

"Good. Now before anything else, are you sure you want to do this? You will be in severe danger, and you've never been in a mission before. Usually we will have our new recruits sent out on training missions to get them used to being in the field before even assigning them onto a team. You don't have that." Brand said, his eyes boring into her. Abby swallowed, looking into her lap and shifting uncomfortably. After a moment, she took a deep breath and looked up, gathering her courage before nodding.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."


	8. Open air

Abby was having second thoughts about this mission. She knew they were only getting closer to their destination, and calling it off right now of all times would be disappointing for everyone counting on her. Especially for the NERDS, tied up and having who knows what done to them at the moment. She couldn't do it even if she had to. Even so, the urge was still there. With every second that passed, her nerves grew more and more out of control. She felt nearly sick to her stomach, and she didn't doubt that her hands were shaking. She simply stared out the window, hoping they would be there soon as the school bus finally began to enter the atmosphere once more. If only she had something to play with, to distract her and keep her hands occupied. Instead her hands were at the sides of her seat, fingers furiously tapping away at it.

It took a few moments, but she suddenly realised the sudden wetness at the seats. She looked down, and pulled her hand away. There on the seat, was a small lake of paint that had dripped down from the wall behind her, leaving it the cold grey of the metal beneath. Abby's eyebrows furrowed in as much interest as there was confusion as she extended a finger towards it. She nearly jerked away as some of the paint began to slowly gravitate towards her hand, pulling away in small droplets and simply floating there in the air before her finger. She only had a second to stare in awe at the paint before she was jumped out of her thoughts by a loud voice, sending the paint shooting away from her and spattering onto the surfaces around.

"We're over the drop!" The lunch lady shouted back from the cock pit.

Brand and Deprankova nodded, suddenly solemn as they stood. Abby swallowed the lump in her throat as she wobbled forward, and Deprankova pulled a pack from the wall.

"Before we do anything, do you know how to skydive?" She asked worriedly, beginning to help Abby into the chute. The girl laughed nervously, glancing at the door of the rocket.

"Uh, kinda? I mean, I watched all sorts of videos on it, and I've done it once when I was on vacation with my parents." She said shakily. Deprankova looked back at Brand with concern in her eyes. Brand looked about as taunt as a bowstring, his face hard as he looked back at the two.

"It'll be fine. We're going to be on link with you the whole time." He said. Abby swallowed and laughed nervously once more, her hands twitching at her sides.

"Yeah, uh, it'll probably be ok. I mean, if I come across anyone, I can just kick them or something. I broke someones rib once with a roundhouse, ya know." She said awkwardly.

She knew she was more trying to reassure herself more than anyone else, but it didn't seem to be very effective as Brand finally opened the door, wind blasting inside as soon as he did. The girl looked back at the two next to her, giving them an attempted smile that she was sure looked more like a grimace than anything else.

"Ok. Here we go." She muttered to herself, counting down in her head. But when she finished, and attempted to push herself forward, she couldn't. She felt the stares of Brand and Deprankova burning into her, and she slowly turned her head to them with yet another nervous laugh.

"Um, uh, do you mind pushing me out? I'm not sure I can jump." She said, her legs shaking slightly. The words gained her confused looks, but after a moment she heard Brand let out a sigh and step forward. And with one firm push, her feet were leaving the safe ground of the school bus and she was plummeting into open air.

She hoped the screams she let out wouldn't wreck her voice too much.

{This ones a short one, but i really hope its ok for now. in other news, its TTWBS's one year point! im really happy about that! Ill do a bigger rant on that in the next chapter of it.}


	9. Into the lions den

It was almost funny how fast Abby would go from screaming, to wooping in exhilarated joy, and back to screaming. She could only imagine how many more times she would be doing this in the future as she finally touched onto the ground, the parachute falling behind her as she stumbled and tripped, just barely keeping her face from smacking into the ground. She giggled slightly to herself, quickly taking the chute off and looking around before tapping her nose.

"Uh, ok. I've landed. What do I do now? Do I, like, um, bury the chute? You guys do that right?" She said awkwardly. There was a crackle, and Brands voice came through.

"No, you don't have to bury the chute. That's for when it's sandy with not much around to hide it. Ball it up and toss it into a tree in the forest beside you." He answered.

Abby cringed inwards on herself as she did so, her hands clenching at the chute before she wandered slightly into the forest and tossed it into a tree. Of course she wasn't going to bury it. That was a stupid question. She shouldn't have asked.

Forcing through her anxiety, she began to make her way down the road, keeping to the treeline. She tapped her nose again after a minute, continuing to keep her eyes ahead.

"Ok so I'm making my way down the road now. What do I do when I see the base? Do I have to like, break in?" She asked nervously, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

"Yes, you have to break in. But according to the intel we have, it should be easier than you likely think. There will be a couple guards outside, but if you knock them out, you should be able to take a key card from one of them and simply get in the front. Once you're in, Benjamin will mess with the cameras so you can move freely. However there will be a point where can no longer help you or track your progress, as well as leave you without your upgrades. On the innermost points of the base, they have set up EMPs, which I know you can guess is what got the other kids in the first place. But they were expected. You are not. Just keep calm, and you'll do fine." Brand answered after a moment.

Abby chuckled nervously, scratching at the back of her neck and jogging forward faster. Right. Calm. Something she was oh so perfect at being.

"I should have taken my dose before this." She mumbled to herself, almost wishing she had taken her practically life saving anxiety meds with her on this little trip. Then again, she wouldn't be making much use of them if she happened to die. Yet another not exactly comforting thought. Even so, she continued to jog ahead, keeping her lips pursed and her eyes ahead. God forbid she look back and suddenly regret everything.

She hopped to a stop, scrambling into the trees when she finally spotted a large building in front of her. It looked something like a repurposed factory of some kind. It must be the place. She knew what to do. Yet again she tapped her nose, swallowing through her dry throat.

"Uh, ok. I'm here. I'm gonna do what you said so uhhhh, wish me luck." She said, letting out another quiet laugh of nervousness.

Swallowing yet again, she peeked out from behind the tree she hid behind to scan the front of the area. There was a large metal door there, which, like expected, was guarded by two hulking thugs. With guns. Great. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her hands, then back at the building. All she had to do was do what she had done on the school bus. Although that was unintentional when she had done it. She just had to remember, it's all about the imagination.

She reached her hand out, eyes narrowing as she focused on the black paint of the building. A grin spread across her face as she saw it begin to liquefy and pull away from the wall, unknown to the henchmen still facing out towards the road. She thought for a moment before letting out a mischievous giggle, her fear all but fading away as she used the paint to grab hold of the two men's heads, and before they could even react, smashed their heads together violently. They both slumped to the ground, and Abby scrambled out, only just now regretting her decision. She hoped she didn't hit them too hard.

She checked their breathing when she slid next to the two, taking a moment before patting them down and checking pockets until she found the key card she was looking for. She let out another excited giggle, tapping her nose.

"I got the key card! I'm going in now." She said. She went to stand up, her hand brushing along the material of the henchman's jacket as she did so.

She paused, glancing at the jacket and contemplating for a second. She looked around one last time, before quickly taking the clothing from the man and pulling it on. Way too big for her and very comfy. Just the way she liked it.

Finally, she swiped the card across a scanner to the side, and stepped inside as the door slid open. The point of no return. Maybe she should have written her obituary before she decided to do this. Too late now.


End file.
